SCHOOL MATTERS: California STAR Results Show Achievement Gap Persists New America Media - 
Student achievement in California public schools improved this year, according to the results of this year's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR)

Transfer Troubles in California U.S. News & World Report - ... just 106000 successfully transferred to University of California or California State University campuses, private colleges, or out-of-state schools.

California School District Closes All 28 Libraries School Library Journal - Rocco Staino
School library staffers became a bargaining chip in negotiations between the district and the California School Employees Association, the largest union for ...  -- 8/31/09

The Battle for Montgomery High -- Montgomery High School does not feel like a school in trouble. EMILY ALPERT  Voiceofsandiego.org -- 8/31/09

Legislators eye grants for schools -- California's top educational and political leaders promised the state will do all it can to qualify for a share of more than $4 billion in competitive federal grants the Obama administration will award to states that establish new frameworks for educational reform. Canan Tasci in the San Bernardino Sun -- 8/31/09

Education News: 8.30.09

Schools Choice pushes LAUSD into a new era -- Los Angeles Unified may have opened its gates for independent operators to run up to a third of its campuses, but the key players - including the influential teachers union - do not anticipate a bitter power grab to take over public schools. Connie Llanos in the Torrance Daily Breeze  -- 8/30/09

Charter schools grow in Valley -- Charter schools are gaining momentum in the Valley, despite tiny budgets and some high-profile failures. Tracy Correa in the Fresno Bee  -- 8/30/09

Bigger classes, fewer frills await Coachella Valley students -- Much of the excitement associated with the first day of school are the changes — new clothes, new teachers and new classmates. Michelle Mitchell in the Desert Sun  -- 8/30/09

Santa Rosa schools lose students, and funding -- An unexpected enrollment drop in Santa Rosa Schools has officials more urgently considering shortening the academic year by five days and closing campuses. KERRY BENEFIELD in the Santa Rosa Press   -- 8/30/09

Teachers aren't always to blame for test scores
By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee 08/30/2009
Three years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that created a new system to collect data on California teachers but forbade intermingling its numbers with students' test scores to evaluate teachers' performance. Now he wants to repeal that law to make the state eligible to compete for $4 billion-plus in federal "Race to the Top" funds, even calling a special legislative session to do it.


State News: 8/31/09

Walters: California public pension costs and angst both increase -- When the Peace Officers Research Association of California began airing advertisements last week about the difficulty and danger of being a cop, it was more than routine image-polishing. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee   -- 8/31/09

Walters: Let us ease up on the invective -- These are trying times. The economy is mired in recession – California is in worse shape than most of the nation – and national and state politics are, to say the least, contentious. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee  -- 8/30/09

CFT In the News: 8/28/09

">“Race To The Top:” Feds Demand Too Much, Too Soon, For Too Little
By Marty Hittelman, President of the California Federation of Teachers
in the California Progress Report 8/28/09

Education news:  8/28/09

CALIFORNIA BRIEFING
Education 'firewall' targeted... Los Angeles Times - ‎10 hours ago‎
... to qualify California for federal education dollars by eliminating a law that prohibits the state from using student test scores to evaluate teachers.

Legislature discusses removing 'firewall' between student data and teacher evaluations -- To make California schools eligible for more federal stimulus funds, the state Legislature took up bills Thursday to change the state law governing the use of student data. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury   -- 8/28/09

UC Davis, Sacramento State professors add furlough days to calendar -- As UC Davis and Sacramento State professors gear up for the new school year, they're scheduling more than just lectures, office hours and meetings. They're also adding something new to their calendars: furlough days. Laurel Rosenhall  in the Sacramento Bee  -- 8/28/09

Students Forced To Pay More to Get Less from CSU Joseph Palermo is Associate Professor of American History at CSU in the California Progress Report 

Chula Vista Teachers Protest Schwarzenegger Visit
Voice of San Diego - ‎9 hours ago‎
I couldn't make it to their meeting, but I phoned Jim Groth, a Chula Vista teacher and a board member of the statewide California Teachers Association, ...

Schwarzenegger Visits Chula Vista School, Lobbies for Stimulus Funds
By Ana Tintocalis  August 27, 2009     
SAN DIEGO — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is urging state lawmakers to change key education laws so California can secure more stimulus spending. He visited the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School to get his message across.

Schwarzenegger gives case for reform at charter school
San Diego Union Tribune - Chris Moran  - ‎7 hours ago‎
The California Teachers Association held a news conference outside the school to oppose the governor's proposals just before Schwarzenegger's visit. ...

State News: 8/28/09
It's really a full-time job
Monterey County Herald - ‎8 hours ago‎
Just because your local state senator or Assembly member would no longer be working full time on your behalf doesn't mean that lobbyists for the teachers ...


CFT:  In the News  8/27/09

Ventura County residents recall Kennedy as impassioned
Ventura County Star - Kathleen Wilson  - ‎10 hours ago‎
“He made us all understand that healthcare is a human right,” said John Wagner, president of the Ventura County Federation of College Teachers, ...

UC employees hold no-confidence vote on President Mark Yudof
Bay Area Indymedia - ‎14 hours ago‎
... the salaries of most of the employees,” says Bob Samuels, a lecturer at UCLA and president of University Council – American Federation of Teachers. ...

Education news:  8/27/09

California’s Response for Federal Stimulus Funding by Senator Gloria Romero in the California Progress Report

State legislators vow to qualify for US education grants
Ventura County Star -

Advice for Duncan: 'Race to the Top' Needs A Larger Dose of Early Ed New America Foundation

Going Digital: California's Textbook Project
Voice of America - ‎16 hours ago‎
The state has had to make severe cuts in school spending because of deep financial problems. More than six million students attend California public schools ...

Governor Wants Federal Grant Money for Schools --  CBS 47

More minorities took SAT college admissions exam this year -- Press-Enterprise

Report calls for overhaul of California community colleges ... 
Los Angeles Times - Seema Mehta
Fixing the pipeline to baccalaureate degrees is vital to the state's economic future, according to the study by the Institute for Higher Education ...

Bleak financial picture at UC Berkeley -- Forced to cut $150 million from his campus budget this year, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau of UC Berkeley painted a grim picture of employee layoffs and pay cuts, fewer courses and likely fee increases as thousands of students returned to school on Wednesday. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle  -- 8/27/09

Chancellor: UC Berkeley to admit more out-of-staters
San Jose Mercury News - Matt Krupnick
"But the university is supposed to be serving the state of California, and that should be its priority." Matt Krupnick covers higher education.

L.A. Unified OKs pay incentives for some administrators -- The Los Angeles Unified School District has instituted a pay incentive program for high-level administrators, a move that is largely symbolic now but that some officials and board members hope will pave the way for more merit-based compensation in the future. Jason Song and Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times

UC Whistle Blower Protection Act Passes Senate By Senator Leland Yee in the California Progress Report

Sac Bee Capitol Alert
Late release: August 26, 2009
Supreme Court nixes two-thirds vote challenge -(entire article follows) 
The state Supreme Court  today rejected, without comment, a lawsuit filed by Charles Young,  former chancellor of UCLA,  challenging the constitutional requirement that new taxes obtain a two-thirds legislative vote.

The suit, filed by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP  on behalf of Young, now director of the Museum of Contemporary Art  in Los Angeles,   alleged that the two-thirds vote, enacted as part of Proposition 13  in 1978, was a revision of the constitution and could not be inserted into the constitution via initiative.

However, it apparently ran afoul of the Supreme Court's  previous decision that rejected that contention. Young's petition for a writ of mandate was denied with a curt "petition dismissed" order filed today.

The constitution allows amendments to be made by initiative petition but allows revisions - generally a more fundamental change - to be made only through a constitutional revision commission or a constitutional convention. Democrats have vowed to alter the two-thirds votes requirements for budgets and taxes, which give Republicans a virtual veto, but voters rejected an effort to change them several years ago.

Reading, Writing and Environment: Gillian Christie, Creator of ...
PR Newswire (press release) - ‎Aug 26, 2009‎
26 /PRNewswire/ -- California's teachers converged on the state capital this week for a lesson on how to promote green learning in their classrooms.

State News: 8/27/09

Skelton: Charting a way out of the mess in the Capitol -- The reform group California Forward has proposed a plan to change state and local governments that has something for everyone, except perhaps for the extreme right and left. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times  -- 8/27/09

CFT In the News: 8/26/09

SacBee Capitol Report  The latest on California politics and government (complete story follows)
August 26, 2009
"Race to the Top" stimulus funds for education and proposed changes to California's   school system will be the subject of a 9 a.m. Senate  Education Committee hearing.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Secretary for Education Glen Thomas, State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell, and representatives from the California Federation of Teachers, the California Teachers Association, United Teachers of Los Angeles, the Legislative Analyst's Office and the Department of Finance are among those scheduled to testify.

Governor visits Fresno in race for school funds
Fresno Bee - Tracy Correa   - ‎12 hours ago‎
If education is underfunded in California, Gadams said, it's largely because of the governor's own budget cuts. The California Federation of Teachers on ...

LBCC approves cuts that may lead to 7 layoffs
Long Beach Press-Telegram - Kevin Butler - ‎12 hours ago‎
... pursuing the layoffs, said Peter Q. Nguyen, a field representative for the California Federation of Teachers, the LBCC union's parent organization. ...

Education news:  8/26/09

Schwarzenegger's Big Plans for Calif. Schools
Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling on legislators to adopt sweeping education reforms that would dramatically reshape California's K-12 schools, ...

Dan Walters: Using student test scores to grade California ...
Sacramento and Modesto Bee

Stealing From the Youth by Joseph Palermo is Associate Professor of American History at CSU, in the California Progress Report

Teachers & Some Democratic Lawmakers Outline Goals For Education Special Session
Tue Aug 25, 2009 — Teachers are urging lawmakers to reinstate the six-billion dollars that were cut in the state budget for education while some democrats are pushing an oil tax to create new revenues.

California seniors' SAT scores dip slightly for '09 -- Math and reading scores for high school seniors were down slightly, but writing scores were higher than the U.S. average. Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/26/09

Walters: Using student test scores to grade California teachers has pitfalls -- Three years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that created a new system to collect data on California teachers but forbade intermingling its numbers with students' test scores to evaluate teachers' performance. Dan Walters  in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/26/09

New study details state's education woes -- The latest results from California's standardized student tests continue to show incremental improvement in academic achievement, but the state still faces a monumental crisis, Oakland-based Education Trust-West says in its annual report on the status of public education. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert   -- 8/26/09

Sierra Club's top 20 eco-friendly colleges include 3 in California -- UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley and UCLA are seventh, eighth and ninth on the list. Amy Littlefield in the Los Angeles Times  -- 8/26/09

School board approves plan to open up schools to outsiders -- The Los Angeles Board of Education voted today to open up 250 schools, including 50 new multimillion-dollar campuses, to outside charter operators and others. Howard Blume and Jason Song in the Los Angeles Times    -- 8/26/09

Vote could open 250 LA schools to outside operators
Los Angeles Times - Howard Blume, Jason Song - ‎11 hours ago‎
District officials and others have said their ability to achieve more than incremental progress is hindered by the powerful teachers union, whose contract ...

Oxnard hunger strikers' petitions reach Capitol
Ventura County Star - Timm Herdt  - ‎17 hours ago‎
Nava urged the delegation from Oxnard to support his proposal to implement an oil severance tax in California to help restore some of the education cutbacks ...

State News: 8/26/09

Tax agencies criticize Schwarzenegger's worker furloughs -- The state's two largest tax agencies won't collect an estimated $350 million in revenue over the next year because furloughs and budget cuts have harmed their ability to audit returns and collect money owed by taxpayers, top state officials said Tuesday. Andrew McIntosh  in the Sacramento Bee    -- 8/26/09

Budget reform group California Forward prepares for 2010 ballot ... 
San Jose Mercury News - Kurtis Alexander - ‎9 hours ago‎
"The majority vote budget would have cut less deeply into education, health and human services," he said. The California Forward proposal, however, ...

Education news:  8/25/09

Let's closely monitor teacher performance -- and take advantage of ... 
Bakersfield Californian - ‎13 hours ago‎
The powerful California Teachers Association is widely credited with authoring and pushing the prohibition. While there is a loophole that allows local ...

Will schools cut 5 days out of calendars to trim budgets?
OCRegister - ‎19 hours ago‎
Q. Will our schools lose the 5 days this year? The governor put this in the budget, right? A. There is a provision in the budget allowing California schools ...

Legislature OKs protections for UC workers -- The California Legislature approved a bill Monday to give UC employees the right to sue the university for damages if they are fired for reporting wrongdoing or unsafe conditions. Wyatt Buchanan  in the San Francisco Chronicl  -- 8/25/09

CALIFORNIA BRIEFING
Los Angeles Times - ‎11 hours ago‎
The resolution originally targeted 50 schools scheduled to open over the next several years but was amended to include an additional 200 underperforming ...

LAUSD takes on `school choice' plan -- Backers of a bold initiative that would allow private operators to take over about a third of Los Angeles Unified campuses plan to draw hundreds of reform-minded parents to a rally today to pressure the school board to pass the measure. Connie Llanos  in the Torrance Daily Breeze  -- 8/25/09

It's time for lunch -- school lunch, that is
Los Angeles Times - ‎2 hours ago‎
About 15% of schools that offer lunch don't offer breakfast (1200 schools in California, according to California Food Policy Advocates), but even in schools ...

Villaraigosa supports opening up L.A. Unified schools to outside operators -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa voiced his support for an expanded version of a controversial resolution that would allow charter school operators and other groups to apply to run city school district campuses. Jason Song in the Los Angeles Times   -- 8/25/09

Public vs. Private institutions
Daily Sundial - Kristopher A. Fortin - ‎11 hours ago‎
Well, it has to be taken into account that one will now pay $38570, before living costs, for a University of Southern California education, as reported by ...

">Education's opening day: Class cuts weigh on students as Chico ... 
SGV Tribune - 1 hr, 38 mins ago
class availability. The forms are being collected statewide. With a half-billion dollars in cuts, and student-fee increases, the budget will have an impact this year,  

Schwarzenegger in Fresno today to talk about school funding KSEE - Fresno – 8/25/09
‎
Governor in Fresno to Push President's Education Plan
CBS 47 - ‎6 minutes ago‎
The problem is those test scores would be used to measure teacher performance and right now, that's against the law in California. President Obama says his ...

Sac Bee Capitol Alert:  August 25, 2009 (Complete article follows)
AM Alert: School days
The Assembly's  still wrestling with the prisons package, but the issue du jour is education.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger  called a special session last week and asked legislators to make sweeping changes to the school system, including repealing a controversial state law that prohibits tying teacher evaluations to student test scores without agreement from local teacher unions.

The governor visits Fresno today to meet with schoolchildren and promote his proposals, which are aimed at ensuring California  can compete for federal "Race to the Top" funds and future education funding that could be tied to educational reform requirements set by the Obama administration.

Back at the Capitol, there will be an 11 a.m. press conference by a group of Oxnard educators who just finished a seven-day hunger strike to protest funding cuts to education over the last two years. Representatives from the California  Teacher's Association and the PTA will be in attendance, as well as Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, and Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles. (Romero and Torlakson are both running for superintendent of public instruction).  

Another schools chief candidate, Larry Aceves, will talk to the Victorville Rotary about the need to update California  curriculum to produce students who can compete in the 21st century economy.

And current Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and Education Secretary Glen Thomas join California  State PTA President Jo Loss at Bannon Creek Elementary School to launch a new campaign to get parents involved in their children's education.

State News: 8/25/09

Whitman offers recipe for fixing state
Enterprise-Record - Larry Mitchell-Staff   - ‎10 hours ago‎
Calling herself a supporter of public schools, Whitman said it is outrageous that California's school system now ranks 48th in the nation. ...

The End of Tax Reform By David Dayen in the California Progress Report 8/25/09 d-day 

Poizner calls for part-time Legislature -- Insurance Commissioner and Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner is calling for a part-time Legislature that he says will force representatives to spend more time in their districts and learn more about people's needs. Jack Chang  SacBee Capitol Alert --8/25/09

Education news:  8/24/09

Editorial: Test scores show some progress among California ...
Oakland Tribune - ‎57 minutes ago‎
LAST WEEK, the state Education Department released news that makes us cautiously optimistic: The percentage of public school children in grades two through ...

CSU tests students' readiness for college-level English, math classes -- A voluntary examination administered to students in the class of 2010 found that, as of last spring, only 16 percent of those tested had the skills needed to succeed in a California State University-level English class, and 57 percent demonstrated readiness or "conditional" readiness to take a CSU mathematics course. Linh Tat  in the Oakland Tribune   -- 8/24/09

Cutbacks Loom As School Year Begins
School boards throughout California are scrambling to finalize budgets as the new school year starts. Budget cuts are a given in many districts and one Bay Area school district is facing a possible strike. Reporter   Peter Jon Shuler. KQED California Report Cutbacks Loom As School Year Begins 

LAUSD To Consider New Schools To Be Privately Run 8/24/09 CBS 2

Editorial: Test scores show some progress among California ... 
Oakland Tribune - ‎47 minutes ago‎
In Alameda County, Oakland's public elementary schools had a significant increase in the number of children showing proficiency on state reading and math ...

College turmoil increases need for financial planning
Alameda Times-Star - Matt Krupnick   - ‎13 hours ago‎
Although fees in the California State University and University of California systems are lower than those in most other states, the schools themselves do ...

Explosion, no injuries at California high school
The Associated Press - ‎21 minutes ago‎
San Mateo police Lt. Mike Brunicardi says officers received several calls just after 8 am Monday from teachers and staff reporting some kind of blast at ...

Stealing From California's Young People
Huffington Post - ‎3 hours ago‎
As a faculty organization we have consistently lobbied state legislators and the governor's office to invest in California's higher education.

National Review Online: Stop Illegals, Save CA
NPR 8/24/09
California's educational system, once easily the best in the country, is today mired in mediocrity near the bottom among the 50 states as judged by National ...

8/23/09

GUEST OPINION: Stress, chaos and anger at SSU Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Editorial: 'Reform' just a try for cash Ventura County Star

Districts soon to have statistical tools to deal with dropout problem Contra Costa Times

State News: 8/21-24

CFT In the News: 8/21/09

Schwarzenegger's plan would reshape education in California
Los Angeles Times - ‎11 hours ago‎
The state, said Marty Hittelman, president of the 100000-member California Federation of Teachers, should not mandate how local districts use student data.

Coast Lines: Aug. 21, 2009 - entire article (no link)
Santa Cruz Sentinel - ‎8 hours ago‎
The pilot will feature many local experts on the topic, including Francisco Rodriguez, president of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, school board ... Second pilot show to air

The second Community TV program "Teacher, Speak Out!" will begin airing at 8 a.m. Saturday.

The half-hour program gives teachers the opportunity to debate in public about how education funds should be spent; this show's topic is "Negotiations Impasse." It deals with the difficulties teachers face as they negotiate for contracts.

The pilot will feature many local experts on the topic, including Francisco Rodriguez, president of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, school board trustees and elementary and high school teachers. The first pilot of the series, "Priorities," is still being aired on Community TV.

For information and the on-air schedule, vi sit CommunityTV.org or www.TeacherSpeakOut.blip.tv.

Budget cuts force union, district to make tough choices
Camarillo Acorn - Michelle Knight - ‎13 hours ago‎
The district's contracts with the Oxnard Federation of Teachers, which represents nearly all of the district's employees, includes a revenue-sharing formula ...

Education news: 8/21/09

California: Governor Calls Special Session of Legislature New York Times

Governor calls for legislation to reform education San Jose Mercury News 8/21/09

POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: Gov. turns up heat for funding Glendale News Press

Protest and Progress in Pasadena
Huffington Post - ‎7 minutes ago‎
Like other school districts in California, almost all of PUSD's funding comes from the state government, but California ranks 46th in the country in ...

Schwarzenegger wants teacher evaluations tied to student performance -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday called a special legislative session for lawmakers to repeal a controversial law that prohibits linking teacher evaluations to student performance. Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/21/09

University of California chief warns unions not to fight furloughs -- When University of California President Mark Yudof announced a massive furlough plan last month, the idea was that almost all UC employees would have their salaries reduced this year by taking some days off without pay. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/21/09

UCI has 500 empty dorm beds due to enrollment cuts, bad economy -- UC Irvine says it has an estimated 500 empty beds available in campus housing due to a sharp cut in freshmen enrollment and a decision by some students to foregoe living at the university to save money during the recession. Gary Robbins in the Orange County Register -- 8/21/09

UCI Law has status, not tradition -- Innovations at the new school, which opens Monday, attract national attention. Mike Anton in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/21/09

Lopez: L.A. school district benefactor puts her money where her heart is -- Melanie Lundquist of Palos Verdes Estates is optimistic that her promise to write a $5-million check each of the next 10 years will result in wider school reforms nationally. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/21/09

UC to give honorary degrees to wartime students of Japanese descent -- Hundreds of Japanese and Japanese American students at the University of California put their education on hold during World War II. Julie Johnson in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/21/09

Majority of LAUSD teachers will return to work, despite layoff notices -- A majority of the 8,846 Los Angeles Unified teachers, counselors and other certified employees who received layoff notices in March still have jobs, with all but a few hundred either going back to work with the district or registered as day-to-day substitutes, officials announced Thursday. The item is in the Torrance Daily Breeze -- 8/21/09

State News: 8/21/09

Walters: Capitol politicians admit they can't make hard choices -- As the Cold War wound down and new military technology emerged two decades ago, Washington politicians were compelled to acknowledge two realities: It was time to shrink the nation's military establishment, and Congress couldn't bring itself to close outmoded military bases that were high-profile components of local economies. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/21/09

Education news: 8/20/09

Editorial: State can't let money slip away
California should compete for $4.35 billion in federal education grants to make big improvements in student achievement. President Barack Obama has made it clear that states leading the way in four core areas can win hundreds of millions of dollars. In the Sacramento Bee 8/20/09

Are charters schools a price of entry to reform? In the Sacramento Bee 8/20/09

UCI’s renowned physics group takes hit in budget crisis -- UC Irvine’s physics department, which is ranked among the top 30 in the nation at the graduate level and was home to a Nobel Prize winner, is cutting $1.2 million to help balance the state budget. Gary Robbins in the Orange County Register -- 8/20/09

The price of school leadership
By: Andrea Koskey - Examiner Staff Writer August 20, 2009
With many districts across the state facing severe revenue cuts and billions of dollars carved from their budgets, superintendents continue to pull in six-figure salaries. While public schools struggle under revenue reductions and budget cuts, one line item, with just a few exceptions, has remained untouched in San Mateo County: superintendent salaries.

Preparing your child for school begins at home
San Jose Mercury News - Nicole Taylor - ‎46 minutes ago‎
State budget cuts on public schools are disturbing for a school system in California suffering from insufficient resources, ...

Challenges of the new school year
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - ‎13 hours ago‎
But as classrooms reopen this week in Petaluma schools, a cloud of uncertainty looms overhead. Public education in California is facing its most severe ...

Our View: State should tap $4.35 billion for students
Merced Sun Star 8/20/09
U.S. has set up competition for Race to the Top funds; California should go all out. Last month, President Obama announced a national competition among the states for $4.35 billion in "Race to the Top" grants, the largest pot of money for education reform in U.S. history.

Private Postsecondary Institutions Need Oversight Now, by Assemblymember Anthony Portantino in the California Progress Report, 8/20/09

California Teacher Corps Forms With Goal of Placing 100,000 Teachers ...
KOTA Territory News - 10 hr, 28 mins ago
New Organization to Prepare Vibrant California Teacher Workforce through Alternative Certification Programs SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -  

Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom
New York Times - Steve Lohr - 22 hours ago
Noah Berger for The New York Times Tyler Kennedy, 9, searches the Web at home in California. The report examined the comparative research on ...

Budget Cuts Take Toll on Education
U.S. News & World Report - Kim Clark - 21 hours ago
In California, where tax revenues for higher education are expected to plunge by about $2 billion, the flagship University of California system reduced its ...

Your view: Teachers deserve promised pensions
Hi-Desert Star - Doris Lawless - 5 hours ago
Since public pensions seem to be a “hot topic” in the media today the members of CalRTA, California Retired Teachers Association, of the Morongo Basin feel ...

State News: 8/20/09

Down the road: Politicians raise money for pending, distant races -- Scores of candidates for the Legislature and statewide offices raised more than $60 million for their campaigns during the first six months of 2009 -- with some of the money going for races as far into the future as 2014. The item is in Capitol Weekly -- 8/20/09

Education news: 8/19/09

California students making slow but steady progress on state tests -- Public school teachers are beginning the school year with a keen understanding of how well or poorly their students performed on standardized tests taken last spring—and the enormous challenge ahead to meet ever-tougher federal goals. Dana Hull in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/19/09

Big lag in test scores for blacks, Hispanics -- Despite a seventh straight year of improved test scores statewide, results released today show California schools failed to make a significant dent in a historically immovable achievement gap - one that leaves black and Hispanic students lagging well behind their white and Asian peers. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/19/09

Proposal would make more aid available to Bay Area students -- A federal proposal would increase financial aid for college students in high-cost areas, a potential boon for Bay Area families. Matt Krupnick in the Contra Costa Times -- 8/19/09

Test scores offer reality check for Villaraigosa's schools -- There are some gains but overall the results fall short of the L.A. mayor's original rhetoric suggesting he could deliver rapid improvement. The story was similar at Locke High, a charter school. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/19/09

More California students taking and doing well on the ACT, but ...
Los Angeles Times - ‎9 hours ago‎ Our students, schools, districts, states and nation cannot afford otherwise.” O'Connell added that the persistent gap between the scores of white and Asian

Clueless: The Dept. of Education Fails Again
Huffington Post - ‎2 hours ago‎  Here in California where our governor has never seen a cop, a firefighter or a public school teacher he couldn't wait to furlough, our Democratic controlled ...

Is UC opening the door to trouble?
Los Angeles Times - Marc B. Haefele - ‎Aug 18, 2009‎ Currently, the top 12.5% of high school seniors in the state are guaranteed admission to a UC school -- something originally set out in the 1960 California ...

Over the next five years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to spend $500 million to identify the qualities of effective teachers and determine how ... Los Angeles Times, 8/19/09

State News: 8/19/09

Education news: 8/18/09

California Department of Education releases annual STAR results
San Jose Mercury News - Dana Hull
Annual state report cards issued today show California's 6.3 million public school students are continuing to make progress in English-language ...

California test results show solid academic gains
San Francisco Chronicle
The state Department of Education on Tuesday released results from the 2009 Standardized Testing and Reporting Program, also known as the STAR tests.

KPBS - Ana Tintocalis - ‎17 hours ago‎
SAN DIEGO - Part of President Barack Obama's education team is traveling through California this week to talk about which reforms are ...

The adolescent politics of virtual education
Huffington Post - ‎California limits online providers by county boundaries. (see The International Association for K-12 Online Learning for a recently released summary of ...

Walters: Vocational bill faces uphill battle
Sacramento Bee and Scripps News - Dan Walters - ‎Not only does the decline in what's now called "career technical education" or CTE, exacerbate California's dropout crisis (at least a quarter of kids don't ...

Judge lets CSU raise fees, for now -- A San Francisco judge refused Monday to block a 20 percent fee increase for California State University students immediately, but scheduled a hearing in two weeks on whether to overturn the new charges. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/18/09

Protesters want UC Berkeley law professor fired -- Police have arrested at least four people during a protest at the University of California, Berkeley campus. AP -- 8/18/09

Does "Torture Memo" Author Belong at Cal?
On the first day of classes at UC Berkeley's law school yesterday, students got to see the law in action. Police arrested four people protesting Professor John Yoo over his role in justifying the alleged torture of suspected terrorists during the Bush Administration. Reporter: Cy Musiker. California Report

University of California Schools to Host Virtual College Fair at ...
PR Web (press release) - ‎Participating University of California schools include: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, and San Diego.

Moorpark College puts 3 sports programs on hold
Ventura County Star - Rhiannon Potkey - ‎9 hours ago‎
California schools have been some of the hardest hit because of the state's $26.3 billion budget shortfall. In the budget deal reached last month, ...

State News: 8/18/09

Cash Woes For State, Not Campaigns
As the Legislature reconvenes for its final sprint on issues small and large, a new compilation of campaign finance data shows that almost $61 million was raised in the first six months of 2009 for campaigns near and distant, expenses small and large.

Education news: 8/17/09

Editorial: Remedial costs are too high for CSU to bear
San Jose Mercury News - ‎14 hours ago‎
... and their high schools. Students arriving unprepared have been a stubborn problem at San Jose State and other California State University campuses. ...

My View: Money doesn't give the whole picture in evaluating schools
Sacramento Bee - Vicki E. Murray - ‎10 hours ago‎
It's because the state's school financing system is illogical and inequitable. The California School Finance Center database - a new project from the ...

University of La Verne offers discount for education students -- The University of La Verne has started a New Teacher Initiative in which students who meet the criteria get a tuition reduction of $50 per semester-hour. Wes Woods II in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 8/17/09

Higher fees and fewer options await students -- As classes begin today at Long Beach City College and Cerritos College, students are facing fewer course offerings and higher fees. Kevin Butler in the Long Beach Press -- 8/17/09

New UC Davis chancellor puts innovation first -- These are just some of the 16 inventions co-patented by Linda Katehi, 55, who starts work today as chancellor of UC Davis - one of the nation's top campuses for science and research. An award-winning electrical engineer and academic with a doctorate from UCLA, she was chosen over 600 other candidates for the job. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/17/09

A drifting danger for Central Valley schoolchildren -- Despite regulations and laws to protect children, Fresno County authorities say school buses are still being exposed to pesticide clouds once or twice a year. Amy Littlefield in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/17/09

Embracing the Precautionary Principle, by Robina Suwol, Founder & Executive Director of California Safe Schools, In the California Progress Report 8/17/09

Local districts look to 'trim' their bus systems
Eureka Times-Standard - ‎9 hours ago‎
Facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, California lawmakers decided to cut school districts' transportation funding by almost 20 percent this year.

Consumer Coalition Announces August Legislative Priorities.... AB 48 (Portantino) - Reauthorizes the Bureau of Private Post Secondary Education, a state agency that went out of business in 2007. The Bureau had a long record of failure to crack down against widespread allegations of fraud committed by for-profit proprietary colleges and vocational schools against their students. AB 48 in its current form would give state approval to these proprietary schools without establishing rules to stop them from luring students with advertisements that wildly inflate job placement rates, starting salaries of graduates, and the ability to transfer course credits to other four year degree granting institutions., By Richard Holober, Executive Director, Consumer Federation of California In the California Progress Report 8/17/09

8/16/09:

Editorial: Drop ban on use of student test scores to evaluate teachers Oakland Tribune 8/16/09

A legislative history of California's college fee waiver -- The college fee waiver for the sons and daughters of disabled veterans in California began with a bill that passed in 1976 and took effect on Jan. 1, 1977. The item is in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/16/09

School districts allowed to delay updating books -- Think of it as a word problem in a sixth-grade math book. Melody Gutierrez in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/16/09

AP ENTERPRISE: Schools gear up for swine flu shots
The Associated Press - Libby Quaid, Lauran Neergaard - ‎13 hours ago‎
Some big states, like California, Ohio and Massachusetts, are focusing on those steps and not on vaccinations, because they don't know h...

Public workers' hefty pensions strain budgets
Contra Costa Times - Troy Anderson - ‎12 hours ago‎
When the state's first pension fund - the California State Teachers' Retirement System - was created in 1913, teachers who worked 30 years were paid a $500 ...

Herhold: How much of a break for the children of California's...
San Jose Mercury News - Scott Herhold - ‎Aug 16, 2009‎
Well, you may have read that teachers are being furloughed, student admission is being capped and fees are being raised at California colleges.

Late release: 8/14/09:
80 OC schools shine in statewide matchups
OCRegister - Fermin Leal, Scott Martindale - ‎Aug 14, 2009‎
In 2007, Stanford University's American Institute for Research, released a report on "Successful California Schools in the Context of Educational Adequacy," ...

8/13/09:
Financial links between colleges, nonprofits draw scrutiny Capitol Weekly

State News: 8/17/09:

Legislators return to discord and a full agenda -- Fresh off their summer recess, California lawmakers will begin this week trying to salvage a legislative year marked by little more than financial crises and partisan bickering. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/17/09

The Signs Don't Point To a Typical Recovery -- The wounded U.S. economy has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks. But many economists, who were caught off guard by the brutality of the downturn, are accentuating the negative, bracing for head winds that could cause the recovery to be weak. Neil Irwin in the Washington Post -- 8/17/09

Education news: 8/14/09

For public schools, one reform matters above all else
Los Angeles Times - Randy Ross - ‎17 hours ago‎
Yet, though the district has shown modest net growth in student achievement under California's school accountability regimen, current outcomes suggest that

California could lose federal education grants -- Although California isn't eligible for billions in federal grants because of a law that prohibits the state from using student test scores to judge teacher performance, some school districts might circumvent the state and apply for the grants on their own. James Rufus Koren in the San Bernardino Sun -- 8/14/09

First Test for Principals: Getting Judged on Test Scores -- San Diego Unified is crafting a new, more rigorous way of judging principals that would include whether student test scores, dropout rates and attendance had improved on their watch, a change that could prove controversial with their new union. EMILY ALPERT Voiceofsandiego.org -- 8/14/09

California State Offers Tough Love To “Super Seniors”
by Janelle L. Plummer Aug 13, 2009, 10:19 Diverse Education
The California State University system’s budget is shrinking and that means space is limited for “super seniors,” those students who keep taking classes despite having enough credits to graduate. As part of a budget-cutting measure, CSU trustees have given campuses unprecedented authority to disenroll “super seniors” this fall.

Cal State to 'super seniors': Graduate, already -- California State University plans to make one last request this year for its longest-term students: Please leave. Matt Krupnick in the Contra Costa Times -- 8/14/09

District: It pays to market Press-Enterprise 8/14/09

Shopping for schools Chico News & Review 8/14/09

'Housed' teacher system needs to be overhauled - By K. Lloyd Billingsley-LA Daily News 8/14/09
THE Los Angeles Unified School District has been given permission to fire Matthew Kim, a disabled special education teacher who has not worked for seven years while drawing his full salary and benefits. Kim's case shows the need for district reform, but it's hardly alone in that regard.

Substitute teachers face crunch in Sacramento County
Sacramento Bee - Melody Gutierrez - ‎ 8/14/09
The California Education Code requires that districts give laid-off teachers priority when offering substituting opportunities.

State News: 8/14/09

CFT In the News: 8/13/09

Is California governable? Download Aug. 13, 2009 KPPC Airtalk
OK, we have a budget deal in California but that doesn’t get to the root of the state's fiscal problems. Is it time to change California's constitution so that the budget process isn't a yearly stalemate? AirTalk goes "on the road" to convene its own Constitutional Convention at the Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles. Larry Mantle and guests pick apart the present budget system and make specific proposals to change the way California does business. Community Advocates Inc. co-sponsored this event.

Is California governable? Web-Only Bonus  Download Aug. 13, 2009  KPPC Airtalk
WEB ONLY BONUS: Audience members ask questions of panelists at AirTalk's mock Constitutional Convention at the Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles. Larry Mantle and guests pick apart the present budget system and make specific proposals to change the way California does business.

Jon Coupal is the President of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and has been involved with multiple state ballot initiatives in the wake of Proposition 13 of 1978, which amended the State Constitution to cap property taxes and imposed greater constraints on legislative attempts to raise property taxes.

Robert Hertzberg, is the co-chair of California Forward, a group that supports tax reform and shifting state and local fiscal responsibilities. He served as Speaker of the California State Assembly from 2000-2002, and is an advocate for renewable energy.

Martin Hittelman is the President of California Federation of Teachers and member of the American Federation of Teachers’ Higher Education Program and Policy Council.

Steve Peace is the former Director of the California Department of Finance and State Senator and current co-chair of the California Independent Voters Network, a non-profit organization focused on independent voter education.

Teachers union needs to be a leader - Los Angeles Times - Steve Lopez - ‎Aug 7, 2009‎
The chief of United Teachers Los Angeles squeezes out words like an old-time union heavy, with a sandpapered New York accent. And by the way, ...

Marty Hittelman responds below in a letter to the LA Times:

Missing the mark on UTLA - Re "The union needs to be a leader,” Column, Aug. 9 (story above)
Steve Lopez offers up some suggestions for United Teachers Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy. It is commendable that Lopez is concerned about Los Angeles schools, but he is operating at the first-grade level, learning to read the words. He has not yet advanced to the stage where he analyzes what the words mean.

Lopez should do some research on what happens to schools when "innovations" such as paying teachers based primarily on standardized test scores and eliminating teachers' due-process rights are imposed. He needs to understand that student learning conditions are the teachers' working conditions. He also needs to understand that education unions are not opposed to changes that make sense.
Martin Hittelman Los Angeles The writer is president of the California Federation of Teachers.

Yet Another UC Compensation Scandal Renews Calls for Legislation...... the American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT), California Nurses Association (CNA), Service Employees Trades Council (SETC), California Labor Federation, ... By Leland Yee, Ph.D.-Assistant President pro Tem-California State Senate in the California Progress Report

Education news: 8/13/09

SJSU tells repeating students: Get help elsewhere San Jose Mercury News - 1 hr, 34 mins ago
...prior years, San Jose State had enough funding to meet the demand of both first-time and repeat remedial students. But this year, it is limiting classes.

One school's plans show the new reality for California education
New Times SLO - Colin Rigley - ‎17 hours ago‎
After an excruciatingly long process in Sacramento, the Legislature patched its budget with $6 billion in additional cuts to education.

Recession hits colleges' endowments -- California State University San Marcos' endowment began with a $450,000 gift in 1996. Twelve years later, the fund was valued at more than $14.6 million. Julia Love in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 8/13/09

Board endorses idea of corporate sponsors in Santa Rosa schools -- Saddled with more than $8 million in cuts and expecting approximately $5.6 million more next year, the Santa Rosa School Board on Wednesday night gave early backing to a plan that would open school buildings, fields and programs to corporate and community sponsorship and naming rights. KERRY BENEFIELD in the Santa Rosa Press -- 8/13/09

Education Report: Should California law allow teachers to be evaluated using student test scores? -- A California law prohibits the state from linking student data to teachers "for the purposes of pay, promotion, sanction or personnel evaluation." Katy Murphy in the Oakland Tribune -- 8/13/09

Financial links between colleges, nonprofits draws scrutiny -- Free-speech groups are trying to force the state’s public universities to disclose financial relationships worth more than $6.25 billion. Maryam Ali in Capitol Weekly -- 8/13/09

Expanding the Charter Option -- The U.S. Education Department is engaged in a high-pressure campaign to get states to lift limits on charter schools through a $4 billion education fund, Race to the Top, that encourages more charters as one of the criteria for states to qualify for a piece of the pie. Anne Marie Chaker in the Wall Street Journal -- 8/13/09

State News: 8/13/09

CFT In the News: 8/12/09

Measure 1B aims to avert suit, mollify teachers
Fresno Bee - Two unions, the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, support Proposition 1B, though only the CTA supports Proposition ...
http://www.fresnobee.com/elections/story/1375538.html

Education news: 8/12/09

Marin Voice: The devastation of public higher education in California
Marin Independent-Journal - ‎11 hours ago‎
... schools however, could affect both their preparation for college and the view private colleges have of applicants coming out of California high schools.
http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_13043021

Grier Says San Diego Unified Unlikely to Secure Special Stimulus Funds
KPBS - Ana Tintocalis - ‎10 hours ago‎
... criticized California as a whole for not being more open to such tough measures. He says the reforms help to distinguish poor teachers from good ones.

Aren't state teacher performance rules hurting our chances for ...
OCRegister - ‎2 hours ago‎
Our president wants California to evaluate teachers based on their test scores. There is a 2006 law stating that our state cannot use test scores to ...
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/teachers-schools-president-2525496-wants-scores

California names first digital textbooks that meet standards for high school math, science -- State education officials on Tuesday named the first 10 digital textbooks that meet California academic standards for high school math and science. Terence Chea AP Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/12/09

Villaraigosa advocates letting outside operators bid for control of L.A. Unified schools -- Under a bill introduced by School Board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, private operators could bid for control of 50 new campuses and hundreds of struggling ones. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/12/09

California could lose federal education grants -- Although California is not eligible for billions in federal grants because of a law that prohibits the state from using student test scores to judge teacher performance, some school districts might circumvent the state and apply for the grants on their own. James Rufus Koren in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 8/12/09

Schools Urged to Review Updated Federal Guidelines to Prevent spread of Influenza Virus
Imperial Valley News - ‎18 hours ago‎
Sacramento, California - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today encouraged local educational agencies to review and share with State budget cuts slash after-school activities for disabled --

The United Cerebral Palsy of the Inland Empire lost state funding for a handful of after-school programs in Indio, Palm Springs, Beaumont, Banning and Hemet. ALDRICH M. TAN in the Desert Sun -- 8/12/09

'Dogs won't cut sports, scholarships, Boeh says
Fresno Bee - 7 mins ago
budget crisis has heavily pressured state universities and colleges to raise revenues and cut expenditures. Campuses have raised student fees, sliced hundreds of

State News: 8/12/09

Walters: California has amassed a mountain of debt -- What, one might ask, is the appropriate metaphor for California's convoluted budgetary situation? Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/12/09

Betting On A Constitutional Convention Peter Schrag in the California Progress Report 8/12/09

Education news: 8/11/09

State suspends new textbooks for grades K-8 -- For the next several years, history textbooks in most California school districts won't mention President Obama. Kevin Butler in the Long Beach Press -- 8/11/09

No budge from state teachers, no cash
Tri-Valley Herald - 8 hr, 39 mins ago
In California's public school classrooms, students may not be the only ones worrying about their grades in the near future. Faced with a dire choice of being loyal

Laid-Off Natomas Teacher Has Class For 1 Week
KCRA.com - 11 hr, 2 mins ago
is likely to make for a very different year in schools like this all across California.Most of the laid-off teachers are working this week as classroom assistants.

A Hard Lesson for Teachers
Wall Street Journal - Dana Mattioli - ‎4 hours ago‎
Enrollment in the elementary program at California Lutheran University's School of Education in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Charter and private schools might not make the grade either
Los Angeles Times - Diane Ravitch - ‎9 hours ago‎
And although California law requires that public schools -- charters included -- accept all students, charters tend to draw the most motivated students and ...

Thomas Elias: Dropouts remain biggest crisis
Record-Searchlight - Tom Elias - ‎9 hours ago‎
California's public schools largely ignored their shameful performance until last year. But it's notable that the dropout rate last fall at charter high ...

Darrell Steinberg sues over governor's trims -- The state Senate's Democratic leader asked a San Francisco judge Monday to restore Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $489 million in budget vetoes, most from programs for the needy and elderly, arguing that the governor has no power to cut spending that the Legislature has already reduced. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/11/09

AFT in the news: 8/7/09

School daze
You may soon be paying a new property tax
By Fred Schnaubelt ,
Friday, August 7, 2009
San Diego Unified School District is seeking a new property tax, a tax on every parcel of land in the district. No matter how much money it receives for school districts it's never enough, a throwback to John L. Lewis's acerbic response in the heyday of the labor movement when asked what do union members want: "More!"..."When school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of school children," said Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers...

Education news: 8/10/09

California could be disqualified for competing for $4.35 billion in federal education stimulus funds -- Faced with a dire choice over being loyal to the state's powerful teachers union or claiming their share of billions of dollars in new federal funding, Sacramento legislators are re-evaluating a law that prevents the state from tying student test scores to teacher performance. Dana Hull in the San Jose Mercury -- 8/10/09

Community colleges trying to weather the funding-cut storm
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Canan Tasci - ‎15 hours ago‎
Lack of funding, tuition increase, reduction of classes, limited enrollment and the halt of mid-year transfers is putting a strain on two-year schools. ...

Agreement on new G.I. Bill a relief to veterans -- Veterans at California's private colleges breathed a sigh of relief last week when they learned that they would be able to take advantage of the Post 9 /11 G.I. Bill after all. PHILIP RILEY in the Riverside Press -- 8/10/09

Layoffs, raises: It's a mixed bag for Sacramento-area teachers -- Most teachers in the Sacramento area will receive raises when they return to school. These increases are automatic "step" increments, and many teachers don't consider them raises. Melody Gutierrez in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/10/09

Sacramento's educate now get paid later strategy means cash flow woes, Manteca Bulletin, 8/10/09

Crowded Classrooms for PVUSD
SantaCruz.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
Still, a new set of regulations for the class-size reduction program will enable to the schools to keep at least 70 percent of their state funding. ...

Our View: Don't block school funding
Pasadena Star-News - ‎14 hours ago‎
"With California public schools facing another $6.5 billion in state budget cuts, now is not the time for uncertainty or ambiguity," Romero told the ...

Placer Union superintendent reflects on budget impact
Auburn Journal - ‎11 hours ago‎
With the news of a California budget agreement, the Auburn Journal sat down with Placer Union High School District Superintendent David Horsey to discuss ...

The new math, Sacramento-style, kicks in as Manteca Unified today starts the 2009-10 school year.
Some $3.5 billion for ongoing expenses for California's schools will be arriving in local districts as much as seven months after they are needed.
By Dennis Wyatt Managing Editor POSTED Aug. 10, 2009

8/9/09

Lopez: Teachers union needs to be a leader -- A.J. Duffy walked into the restaurant like a man on his way to a fight, with quick footwork and fierce eyes. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/9/09

State News: 8/10/09

Lawsuits are the latest roadblock for California budget -- Litigators go to court to undo cuts made by legislators and the governor. The state is spending billions of dollars fighting the lawsuits and dealing with increasingly unfavorable rulings. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/10/09

State seeks an even keel on taxes -- Still smarting from the latest budget fight, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders are gearing up for a new battle -- a push to ease the state's chronic boom-bust cycles by radically altering the way we pay taxes. Eric Bailey in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/10/09

8/9/09

Prop 13: What Would Milton Friedman Do?
Brian-Leubitz.jpgBy Brian Leubitz
Founder and Publisher Calitics in the California Progress Report 8/9/09
Joe Matthews has an outstanding column up at Fox & Hounds. It seeks to isolate the question of property taxes, and whether Prop 13 is the best resolution. And to address this question, Matthews pulls out the ol' WWMFD question - What would Milton Friedman Do

Education News: 8.7.09

Execs still get raises as UC cuts staffing, pay -- On the same July day that the UC Board of Regents cut $813 million from UC budgets - setting in motion pay cuts, layoffs and campus cutbacks - the board quietly approved pay raises, stipends and other benefits for more than two dozen executives. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/7/09

UC Davis, CSUS boost graduation rates -- Good news for students entering UC Davis and Sacramento State as freshmen this fall: You probably have a better chance of graduating from your school sooner than students did several years ago. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/7/09

Athletic programs at public colleges feel California's budget ax
Athletic departments throughout California's three-tiered college system are under pressure to cut spending. They cope in various ways, some with drastic action. UC Irvine is dropping five sports.
By David Wharton
August 7, 2009
The telephone rang early that morning while Chris Rosales was in the shower, so the news reached him by way of an urgent message.

EX E-BAY CEO MEG WHITMAN, GOP CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR, LAYS OUT PRIORITIES IN VISIT TO CUYAMACA COLLEGE: JOBS, EDUCATION & SPENDING CUTS FOR CALIFORNIA
By Miriam Raftery
August 6, 2009 (El Cajon) - Can the woman who led e-Bay to become one of the world's most successful business models turn around California's troubled economy?
Meg Whitman, former Chief Executive Officer of the online auction site, pledged to run California "more like a business" if she wins the Republican primary and general election next year for Governor. Whitman spoke yesterday in a public forum at Cuyamaca College sponsored by the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce.

Rising Tuition Rates, Recession Having Impact on Students, Schools
by Janelle L. Plummer
Aug 7, 2009, 08:37
Many of the nation's colleges and universities are raising tuition for students this school year, and the economic recession is having an effect on several Minority-Serving Institutions.
California State University, which has a large minority population, raised tuition and fees 20 percent for students this fall.

Schools Brace for State-Inflicted Cuts
By Ted Reckas
As the state legislature grapples with California's economic struggles, a new budget has been passed that significantly cuts education, with Orange County schools losing a total of $550 million in state funding for the next two school years. Laguna Beach Unified School District is predicted to lose about $1.8 million of the normal $2.5 million it receives, according to Norma Shelton, the district's assistant superintendent of business services.

Schools receiving another $71.6 million in stimulus funds
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The funding will help California improve technology in public schools, state officials say.
By FERMIN LEAL
The Orange County Register
California has received $71.6 million more in federal stimulus funds aimed at improving technology in the classroom, state officials announced today.

Poll: Is the middle class paying too much for education?
August 7th, 2009, 6:00 am · 27 Comments · posted by Gary Robbins, science writer-editor
s the middle class being overtaxed, especially for education? We want to know.

The University of California and California State University systems have significantly raised student fees this year to help the state balance the budget.

Thinking about consolidation
By DON BENNETT,
ARGUS-COURIER COLUMNIST
Thursday, August 6, 2009
When times get tough and local governments don't have the cash to provide all the services the public demands, the armchair pundits like to solve the problem by calling for consolidation of services and efforts.
...
On a separate front, there has been some grumbling about the proliferation of school districts, particularly here in the Petaluma area. There are three elementary districts alone within the city, plus several more just on the outskirts of the city. They range in size from small, with just a handful of students, to medium, the Old Adobe district, with its five schools; to large, with the Petaluma elementary district.

School officials name Distinguished Educator
By DAILY SOUND STAFF - August 7, 2009
It would be difficult to deny that Philip Levien is a modern-day Renaissance man.
He splits his time between his job as an English and performing arts teacher at San Marcos High School, working with future teachers at UC Santa Barbara, appearing in films and theater productions, coaching youth basketball, serving as scorekeeper for his daughter's softball team and helping out with a preschool parent teacher association.

State News: 8.7.09

Walters: 2006 education bill bedevils Schwarzenegger -- The devil, it's been said, is in the details and Arnold Schwarzenegger is bedeviled by one paragraph of a bill he signed three years ago to create a new system for collecting and storing information about the state's public school teachers. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/7/09

Big donors sought for Schwarzenegger climate meeting -- A top California Chamber of Commerce official is soliciting six-figure donations to help Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger host a climate change summit in Los Angeles, offering contributors private access to the governor and "first-paragraph mention in official event press release," according to donor materials. Kevin Yamamura in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/7/09

Podcast: Recess Kerfuffle -- With the Legislature on recess and our Capital Notes Podcast back after a pause, it's a good time for a reset on budget politics. John Myers Capitol Notes weblog -- 8/7/09

CFT News: 8.6.09

Education News: 8.6.09

In Tough Times, a Bold Bid by Teachers Union
By EMILY ALPERT
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 | Teaching would be great, Tomas Morales joked, if he only had to teach. But lessons are only a fraction of what Morales does in a typical day in his fourth and fifth grade classes at the Language Academy.
Morales meets with parents to discuss how to specialize classes for students with disabilities; he attends trainings for new curricula and new state tests, plans lessons, fills out paperwork, and attends to minor medical needs when the nurse is away.

Old teacher still has class
This crazy California mess has racked up some anger in all of us. But it gets to me when people are being told public pensions are "freebies" or welfare, and we created the budget problem. Really?

"Great news for California schools" says Romero of decision to accelerate stimulus funding
California Political Desk
August 06, 2009
SACRAMENTO - Senator Gloria Romero, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, says that the U.S. Department of Education´s decision to accelerate payments to states receiving federal education recovery funds will make a huge difference for cash-strapped California schools. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced that the Department will accelerate stimulus spending by making $11.37 billion in Title I, IDEA, and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) available to states on or around September 1, a month earlier than previously announced.

Hundreds gather in San Jose to protest school cuts
By John Woolfolk
Posted: 08/05/2009
California Superintendent of Public Education Jack O'Connell joined hundreds of school employees Wednesday for a noontime demonstration to protest state budget cuts to education.
O'Connell told the Mercury News afterward that despite California's multibillion-dollar budget crisis, state officials have better alternatives than reducing spending for public schools.

Budget cuts devastate California higher education
By TERENCE CHEA (AP) - 21 hours ago
SAN FRANCISCO - When California college students return to campus this fall, they'll find crowded classrooms, less access to faculty and counselors, fewer campus services and more difficulty getting classes they need to graduate - all while paying higher fees.
The state's financial crisis is battering its world-renowned system of higher education, reducing college opportunities for residents and threatening California's economic recovery.

California school tops list of ‘most religious' colleges
It's an annual ritual for education-related publishers and various publications to rank colleges and universities for seemingly everything under the sun.
The Princeton Review, most commonly known for its college prep test reviews, recently released its "The Best 371 Colleges - 2010 Edition."

Can a PTA Bake Sale Save a Teacher's Job?
By Gilbert Cruz Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009
How many bake sales does it take to save a teacher's job? For decades, public-school parents have organized such fundraising events to cover the costs of field trips, sports equipment and other frills that enrich their children's education. Yet now, as recession clouds hang ever lower and state budgets tighten, schools and districts are increasingly asking adults to help pay for essentials. Parents are under pressure to bring in big bucks for supplies, technology and even, in some cases, staff salaries. That's a lot of sugar cookies.

Teacher, labor leader Kathleen Crummey dies
Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Labor leader Kathleen Crummey, tenacious president of the Hayward Education Association, has died of lung cancer. She was 66.
A fifth-generation Californian and native of Hayward, Ms. Crummey was an elementary school teacher who devoted her life to improving the welfare not only of the children she taught but also of the teachers she worked with.
Ms. Crummey proved her tenacity in April 2007, when she led Hayward teachers - then among the lowest paid instructors in Alameda County - through a 22-day strike for higher pay.

State News: 8.6.09

Line Item Vetoes: Legal or Not? -- Expect a heated debate in the near future as to whether Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision last week to line-item veto almost $500 million in spending was within his powers as chief executive... or not. John Myers Capitol Notes weblog -- 8/5/09

CFT News: 8.5.09

Education News: 8.5.09

Chapman to auction premium parking to appease the lazy -- Chapman University will auction off permits to a premium parking lot to students and faculty who are, essentially, too lazy to walk 5 minutes from a nearby lot on the small, bucolic Orange campus. Ben Young Landis in the Orange County Register -- 8/5/09

New GI Bill changed for California -- California veterans who attend private college or graduate school will receive tuition support from the Post 9/11 GI Bill, thanks to an agreement between the state and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Matthew B. Stannard in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/5/09

Special Needs Schools 101: Westmark School, LA school for students with learning differences
August 4
The Westmark School provides students of average to above average intelligence who have language-based learning differences and executive function concerns with a challenging college-prep curriculum. Classroom modifications and the incorporation of proven educational strategies help students develop their full potentials.

Real cost of school cuts
The Bakersfield Californian | Tuesday, Aug 04 2009
I am concerned about the future costs of an increase in the number of illegitimate children in California if the school budget is reduced. Ill-educated children from schools serving lower socialeconomic areas that have a shortage of teachers cannot keep up scholastically.

Budget Cuts Hit California Campuses
August 05, 2009 | Jessica Calefati, Jeff Greer |
Born out of a vision to offer all residents access to higher education no matter the size of their paychecks, California's expansive higher education system is now dealing with budget cuts recently imposed by the state legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that could undermine its mission, the Los Angeles Times reports.

O'Connell hopes love of schools can make him governor
Redwood Times
Posted: 08/05/2009
CALIFORNIA FOCUS
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
Few state officials or activists have been more vocal during California's long-running budget battles than Jack O'Connell, the state's two term school superintendent who hopes to become its next governor.
O'Connell has spoken often and loudly against the approximately $5 billion in cuts to education that have either been enacted in the last year or proposed by current Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders, decrying them as the worst possible thing California could do.

Enter 'Moonbeam': California's Race to the Top Dilemma
from guest blogger Lesli A. Maxwell
The drama over whether California is disqualified from competing for a share of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund may end up before the singular Jerry Brown, the state's attorney general and a candidate for governor in 2010. Mr. Brown (a former two-term governor, first elected in 1974) has apparently been tasked with parsing a section of the state education code that the Obama Administration has said prohibits the use of student achievement data to appraise the effectiveness of teachers.

Inola Henry dies at 66; teacher and California Democratic activist
Los Angeles Sentinel
By Elaine Woo
August 5, 2009
Inola Henry, an educator, teachers union leader and longtime Democratic Party activist on the local, state and national levels, died July 26 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 66.
The cause was a heart attack, according to her son, Carl.

State News: 8.5.09

Field Poll contends GOP is isolated as California shifts left -- The climbing number of independent voters over the past 30 years has fueled a more liberal shift in attitudes among Californians about hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion, according to a Field Poll survey released Tuesday. Jack Chang in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/5/09

More Left, More Right... Bigger Gap -- The second and final day of then-versus-now comparisons by the venerable Field Poll makes it easy to see how the seeds of discontent and disagreement have flowered among partisan voters in California these last three decades. John Myers Capitol Notes weblog -- 8/5/09

Judges order California to cut prison population by 40,591 -- In a historic move Tuesday, a panel of three federal judges ordered California officials to cut the state's prison population by 40,591 inmates in the next two years because of chronic overcrowding that the panel said has resulted in an unconstitutional level of medical and mental health care. Denny Walsh and Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/5/09

Walters: State of denial on prisons boomerangs -- The dominant cultural trait of the state Capitol is procrastination, a chronic tendency to deny reality as long as possible and thus avoid the political consequences of facing it. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/5/09

CFT News: 8.4.09

Education News: 8.4.09

Dropout rates improve in L.A. Unified -- The numbers also raise questions about whether necessary budget reductions -- and how the district achieved them -- will undermine this apparent improvement in the nation's second-largest school system. Howard Blume and Jason Song in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/4/09

First furloughs scheduled at CSUS -- Staff and managers at Sacramento State will begin taking unpaid days off this week in the first phase of a one-year furlough plan at the university that will reduce employees' salary by 10 percent. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/4/09

San Francisco school district's property portfolio -- In San Francisco, where a nothing-special square foot of dirt can carry a price tag of $200, the city's school district is sitting on a gold mine. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 8/4/09

Schools prepare for flu's return -- The county's public health chief told school officials yesterday to close campuses when 30 percent of students are absent because of flu, a far-higher threshold than officials used in shutting down schools when the swine flu outbreak peaked here in the spring. Chris Moran in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 8/4/09

Laid-off teachers going to court
Claim Wheatland shouldn't have fired senior instructors
August 04, 2009 12:09:00 AM
By Ryan McCarthy/Appeal-Democrat
Five teachers laid off by the Wheatland School District want a court order for their reinstatement, contending the school district eliminated the jobs of teachers with seniority and kept newer instructors.

Budget cuts leave Marin's school librarians in the lurch
By Rob Rogers
Posted: 08/01/2009
This fall, school librarian Jane Ritter will guide a group of fourth- and fifth-graders through a Web site devoted to the preservation of the endangered Pacific Northwest tree octopus.
The site is well-crafted, with ample links to scientific and environmental groups, photos and descriptions of tree octopus sightings, and posters and cartoons detailing the creature's history.
It's also completely fake - though that's far from obvious to many of Ritter's students.

Opinion: California can't afford to give up summer school
By Muhammed Chaudhry and Roger Quinlan
Special to the Mercury News
08/02/2009
Planted on the couch, with TV remote or PlayStation controller firmly in hand, many kids lazily pass away the summer. Sound productive? Of course not. But it may be the reality for a larger number of our local students this year because of large-scale cuts to summer school in Silicon Valley and throughout the state.

State senators to consider changing law on student scores, teacher evaluations
In an effort to qualify for federal 'Race to the Top' funds, the Senate's education committee plans to look at a 2006 law that bars use of test scores to evaluate teacher performance.
By Jason Song
August 4, 2009
The state Senate will hold hearings later this month to determine if legislators need to change a California law governing the use of student test scores in order to qualify for competitive federal education reform dollars.

State News: 8.4.09

Walters: Polling reveals California's fragmented electorate -- California, it's been observed, is a canary in the socioeconomic mine, telling the rest of the nation what to expect in the future, for better or worse. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/4/09

Down-ticket 2010 -- Here's a look at how campaign finances are shaping up in races for constitutional offices in 2010: Amy Chance SacBee Capitol Alert -- 8/4/09

Roberts and Trounstine: Poizner Plays Prius to eMeg's High-Rolling Hummer -- Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner on Monday offered himself as the Prius candidate for governor - the guy with "a hybrid mix of skills" - while taking a few whacks at his big-spending GOP rival Meg Whitman during his first campaign conference call with reporters. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 8/4/09

CFT News: 8.3.09

Education News: 8.3.09

The State of Education in California
State Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell is on the Liveline talking about about the budget cuts hitting the public school system. "It's going to be devastating," he says. KGO's Jennifer Jones asks about the cost-saving measure that will allow Special Education students to graduate without passing the exit exam. Is Jack for or against? What about accountability?

College program's orientation begins with a road trip -- Students in the College Unbound program take one another on tours of their hometowns. The trip began Sunday in L.A., where they visited community gardens and hiked in Griffith Park. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/3/09

Busing costs burden area schools -- Hobbled by tight budgets, shrinking state money and soaring transportation costs, school officials say that charging bus riders will add revenues or, perhaps, thin the ranks to the point that districts can stop busing altogether, eliminating an enormous expense. LAURIE LUCAS in the Riverside Press -- 8/3/09

Educators look at using cell phones as teaching tools -- Students in Joe Wood's science class at Somerset Middle School in Modesto didn't have to hide their cell phones in their backpacks. Diana Lambert in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/3/09

Dissecting Texts and Not Just Frogs -- The neat rows of desks have disappeared from Carol Ann Vorce's classroom at Montgomery Middle School, replaced with clusters where students can talk. EMILY ALPERT Voiceofsandiego.org -- 8/3/09

Education News: 8.2.09

Lopez: A lesson from a good teacher -- Susan Requa has a gift for teaching, but because she has only one year of experience at James Monroe High in Los Angeles, she gets a pink slip. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/2/09

New Redlands high school to open despite budget concerns -- Facing $20 million dollars in budget cuts, the Redlands Unified School District weighed postponing opening new Citrus Valley High School, but decided against it in order to help relieve overcrowding at the city's two other high schools. Chantal M. Lovell in the San Bernardino Sun -- 8/2/09

Veterans get a boost in education funds -- The Marine Corps reservist will soon get a boost from the biggest increase in veterans' education benefits since after World War II. PHILIP RILEY in the Riverside Press -- 8/2/09

State Budget: Cuts threaten pillars of higher education
Focus on quality of state schools likely to crumble as fees rise and enrollment drops
By Larry Gordon, Gale Holland and Mitchell Landsberg | Los Angeles Times
California's master plan for higher education, the product of an era of seemingly limitless opportunity, was nearly 30 years old when Nicolette Lafranchi was born in 1988.
By the time she turned 20, the plan was working well for her, just as it had for tens of millions of students before her.
That's less true now.

State News: 8.3.09

Skelton: Schwarzenegger is unpopular but undaunted -- The fact that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's poll numbers have plummeted to where Gray Davis' were when Schwarzenegger booted him from office might humble an ordinary politician. He'd probably lower his sights. But not Schwarzenegger. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 8/3/09

Walters: California's supermajority budget vote in the crosshairs -- California is just one of three states that require supermajority votes to enact state budgets, and while that constitutional provision has been in effect for nearly eight decades, only in the past quarter-century has it become a major political impediment. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/3/09

Governor's inmate reduction program: How will it work? -- As police officers and deputies are being laid off across California, the idea is almost breathtaking: Reduce California's prison population by 27,300 inmates, partly by letting some out of the gates. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee -- 8/3/09

State, Los Angeles talk tax reform -- With city and state revenues in a continual downward spiral, government officials ranging from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are eyeing tax reform as a boost to the economy and public coffers. Rick Orlov in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 8/3/09

Roberts and Trounstine: What Sacramento's Wimpy Democrats Aren't Doing -- When Calbuzz bashed the Democrats' legislative leaders for getting rolled by Arnold and the Reeps in the budget fight, we heard some cries of "foul" from defenders of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Darrell Steinberg. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 8/3/09

Perpetuating Budget Myths
Paul-Hogarth.gif By Paul Hogarth
While California's poor, elderly and children suffer the consequences of the new state budget, Arnold's friends at the San Francisco Chronicle are going for the kill. Yesterday's front-page story about the state's "long spending spree" was so biased and misleading that it could have been written by the right-wing Howard Jarvis Taxpayer's Association. It's no surprise that a state that grew by 7 million people from 1990 to 2008 would spend more money than it did 20 years ago, and even fluctuations in per capita spending don't tell the whole story. The Chronicle did not mention state funding for the UC system has dropped 40% since 1990, California is now 47th in the nation in K-12 per-pupil spending and we are the only state kicking uninsured children off SCHIP rolls - and wait-listing thousands more. Rather than admit the state has a revenue problem, the Chronicle would rather make readers believe we have a spending problem - and that the rich pay too many taxes. For liberal San Francisco's paper of record, that's a colossal embarrassment.

Note to Schwarzenegger, GOP: Businesses Say Education Spending, Infrastructure More Important than Tax Breaks
All Reports by Steven Maviglio
July 31, 2009
The next time Republicans -- or for that matter, Gov. Schwarzenegger -- rant about businesses leaving the state because of the Legislature, Democrats ought to rise up and read them this article in the LA Times: Coffeepot maker vents about doing business in California.

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